678 research outputs found
A Simultaneous Optical and X-ray Variability Study of the Orion Nebula Cluster. II. A Common Origin in Magnetic Activity
We present a statistical analysis of simultaneous optical and X-ray light
curves, spanning 600 ks, for 814 pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars in the Orion
Nebula Cluster. The aim of this study is to establish the relationship, if any,
between the sites of optical and X-ray variability, and thereby to elucidate
the origins of X-ray production in PMS stars. In a previous paper we showed
that optical and X-ray variability in PMS stars are very rarely
time-correlated. Here, using time-averaged variability indicators to examine
the joint occurrences of optical and X-ray variability, we confirm that the two
forms of variability are not directly causally related. However, a strong and
highly statistically significant correlation is found between optical
variability and X-ray luminosity. As this correlation is found to be
independent of accretion activity, we argue that X-ray production in PMS stars
must instead be intimately connected with the presence and strength of
optically variable, magnetically active surface regions (i.e. spots) on these
stars. Moreover, because X-ray variability and optical variability are rarely
time-correlated, we conclude that the sites of X-ray production are not
exclusively co-spatial with these regions. We argue that solar-analog coronae,
heated by topologically complex fields, can explain these findings.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal. 33 pages, 3 figure
Angular momentum evolution of young low-mass stars and brown dwarfs: observations and theory
This chapter aims at providing the most complete review of both the emerging
concepts and the latest observational results regarding the angular momentum
evolution of young low-mass stars and brown dwarfs. In the time since
Protostars & Planets V, there have been major developments in the availability
of rotation period measurements at multiple ages and in different star-forming
environments that are essential for testing theory. In parallel, substantial
theoretical developments have been carried out in the last few years, including
the physics of the star-disk interaction, numerical simulations of stellar
winds, and the investigation of angular momentum transport processes in stellar
interiors. This chapter reviews both the recent observational and theoretical
advances that prompted the development of renewed angular momentum evolution
models for cool stars and brown dwarfs. While the main observational trends of
the rotational history of low mass objects seem to be accounted for by these
new models, a number of critical open issues remain that are outlined in this
review.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Protostars & Planets
VI, 2014, University of Arizona Press, eds. H. Beuther, R. Klessen, K.
Dullemond, Th. Hennin
TESS unveils the phase curve of WASP-33b. Characterization of the planetary atmosphere and the pulsations from the star
We present the detection and characterization of the full-orbit phase curve
and secondary eclipse of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-33b at optical wavelengths,
along with the pulsation spectrum of the host star. We analyzed data collected
by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) in sector 18. WASP-33b
belongs to a very short list of highly irradiated exoplanets that were
discovered from the ground and were later visited by TESS. The host star of
WASP-33b is of delta Scuti-type and shows nonradial pulsations in the
millimagnitude regime, with periods comparable to the period of the primary
transit. These completely deform the photometric light curve, which hinders our
interpretations. By carrying out a detailed determination of the pulsation
spectrum of the host star, we find 29 pulsation frequencies with a
signal-to-noise ratio higher than 4. After cleaning the light curve from the
stellar pulsations, we confidently report a secondary eclipse depth of 305.8
+/- 35.5 parts-per-million (ppm), along with an amplitude of the phase curve of
100.4 +/- 13.1 ppm and a corresponding westward offset between the region of
maximum brightness and the substellar point of 28.7 +/- 7.1 degrees, making
WASP-33b one of the few planets with such an offset found so far. Our derived
Bond albedo, A_B = 0.369 +/- 0.050, and heat recirculation efficiency, epsilon
= 0.189 +/- 0.014, confirm again that he behavior of WASP-33b is similar to
that of other hot Jupiters, despite the high irradiation received from its host
star. By connecting the amplitude of the phase curve to the primary transit and
depths of the secondary eclipse, we determine that the day- and nightside
brightness temperatures of WASP-33b are 3014 +/- 60 K and 1605 +/- 45 K,
respectively. From the detection of photometric variations due to gravitational
interactions, we estimate a planet mass of M_P = 2.81 +/- 0.53 M$_J.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figure
A Strict Test of Stellar Evolution Models: The Absolute Dimensions of Massive Benchmark Eclipsing Binary V578 Mon
We determine the absolute dimensions of the eclipsing binary V578 Mon, a
detached system of two early B-type stars (B0V + B1V, P2.40848 d) in the
star-forming region NGC 2244 of the Rosette Nebula. From the light curve
analysis of 40 yr of photometry and the analysis of HERMES spectra, we find
radii of Rsun and Rsun, and temperatures of ~K and K respectively. We find that our
disentangled component spectra for V578 Mon agree well previous spectral
disentangling from the literature. We also reconfirm the previous spectroscopic
orbit of V578 Mon finding that masses of Msun and Msun are fully compatible with the new analysis. We compare the absolute
dimensions to the rotating models of the Geneva and Utrecht groups and the
models of Granada group. We find all three sets of models marginally reproduce
the absolute dimensions of both stars with a common age within uncertainty for
gravity-effective temperature isochrones. However - there are some apparent age
discrepancies for the corresponding mass-radius isochrones. Models with larger
convective overshoot worked best. Combined with our previously
determined apsidal motion of deg cycle,
we compute the internal structure constants (tidal Love number) for the
newtonian and general relativistic contribution to the apsidal motion,
and respectively. We find
the relativistic contribution to the apsidal motion of be small . We find
that the prediction of of the Granada
models fully agrees with our observed .Comment: accepted for publication in AJ 05/02/201
Discovery of Par 1802 as a Low-Mass, Pre-Main-Sequence Eclipsing Binary in the Orion Star-Forming Region
We report the discovery of a pre-main-sequence, low-mass, double-lined,
spectroscopic, eclipsing binary in the Orion star-forming region. We present
our observations including radial velocities derived from optical
high-resolution spectroscopy, and present an orbit solution that permits the
determination of precise empirical masses for both components of the system. We
measure that Par 1802 is composed of two equal mass (0.39+-0.03, 0.40+-0.03
Msun) stars in a circular, 4.7 day orbit. There is strong evidence, such as the
system exhibiting strong Li lines and a center-of-mass velocity consistent with
cluster membership, that this system is a member of the Orion star-forming
region and quite possibly the Orion Nebula Cluster, and therefore has an age of
only a few million years. As there are currently only a few empirical mass and
radius measurements for low-mass, PMS stars, this system presents an
interesting test for the predictions of current theoretical models of pre-main
sequence stellar evolution.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables; Fig 2 caption edite
Periodic Accretion From A Circumbinary Disk In The Young Binary UZ Tau E
Close pre-main-sequence binary stars are expected to clear central holes in their protoplanetary disks, but the extent to which material can flow from the circumbinary disk across the gap onto the individual circumstellar disks has been unclear. In binaries with eccentric orbits, periodic perturbation of the outer disk is predicted to induce mass flow across the gap, resulting in accretion that varies with the binary period. This accretion may manifest itself observationally as periodic changes in luminosity. Here we present a search for such periodic accretion in the pre-main-sequence spectroscopic binary UZ Tau E. We present BVRI photometry spanning 3 years; we find that the brightness of UZ Tau E is clearly periodic, with a best-fit period of 19.16 +/- 0.04 days. This is consistent with the spectroscopic binary period of 19.13 days, refined here from analysis of new and existing radial velocity data. The brightness of UZ Tau E shows significant random variability, but the overall periodic pattern is a broad peak in enhanced brightness, spanning more than half the binary orbital period. The variability of the H alpha line is not as clearly periodic, but given the sparseness of the data, some periodic component is not ruled out. The photometric variations are in good agreement with predictions from simulations of binaries with orbital parameters similar to those of UZ Tau E, suggesting that periodic accretion does occur from circumbinary disks, replenishing the inner circumstellar disks and possibly extending the timescale over which they might form planets
A multi-color optical survey of the orion nebula cluster. II. The H-R diagram
We present a new analysis of the stellar population of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) based on multi-band optical
photometry and spectroscopy.We study the color–color diagrams in BVI, plus a narrowband filter centered at 6200 Å, finding evidence that intrinsic color scales valid for main-sequence dwarfs are incompatible with the ONC in the M
spectral-type range, while a better agreement is found employing intrinsic colors derived from synthetic photometry, constraining the surface gravity value as predicted by a pre-main-sequence isochrone.We refine these model colors even further, empirically, by comparison with a selected sample of ONC stars with no accretion and no extinction. We consider the stars with known spectral types from the literature, and extend this sample with the addition of 65 newly classified stars from slit spectroscopy and 182 M-type from narrowband photometry; in this way, we isolate a sample of about 1000 stars with known spectral type. We introduce a new method to self-consistently derive the stellar reddening and the optical excess due to accretion from the location of each star in the BVI color–color diagram. This enables us to accurately determine the extinction of the ONC members, together with an estimate of their accretion luminosities. We adopt a lower distance for the Orion Nebula than previously assumed, based on recent parallax measurements. With a careful choice of also the spectral-type–temperature transformation, we produce the new Hertzsprung–Russell diagram of the ONC population, more populated than previous works. With respect to previous works, we find higher luminosity for late-type stars and a slightly lower luminosity for early types. We determine the age distribution of the population, peaking from ~2 to ~3 Myr depending on the model. We study the distribution of the members in the mass–age plane and find that taking into account selection effects due to incompleteness,
removes an apparent correlation between mass and age.We derive the initial mass function for low- and intermediate mass members of the ONC, which turns out to be model dependent and shows a turnover at M ≲ 0.2 M_⊙
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